The spiraling decline of “Imam” Shuaib Webb

The religion of Islam as we know it to be is under great stain in our times. From all sides of the table, personal interpretations and understandings of Islam are being thrown across at one another. Each group claiming to hold to key to providing people with a practical solution on how they can implement Islam in the west. This is being done more rapidly in America than anywhere else in the world. The idyllic image of a respected imam, leading his community in the services of dheen is quickly eroding away. Being replaced by the image of a ‘yob style hooded vigilante’ armed with a few Quranic verses and Hadiths. The image of a Muslim, with a fist-long beard, wearing loose cloths, a turban or a hat has already had it’s fair share of beatings from the media. However, there is a growing trend among Muslims also, who are joining this crowd. A crowd who views a person dressed in thowbs, turban and a beard, as backward, ancient and out-of-touch!

Previously i have discussed how the Muslims are plummeting down into the abyss of hellfire. – By giving room to the ugly ideals of western freedom. A concept which says a person can say and believe in anything he or she wishes. Which means if they want to add things into Islam then can do so as they please. That, regardless of their outlook on life and styles of living, they will still be regarded as being ‘muslims’. With no need to sacrifice or abandon any of their former lifestyles. So; if a person was a musician in their former life, before Islam. Like Yusuf Islam or Dawud Warnsby Ali, there is no problem. Just keep on singing and dancing into Islam as well! Absolutely no need to abandon their music or former life styles. (Astagfirullah).

The ‘American- style Islam which they are trying to create is one which promotes the idea ‘Leave worrying, chill, enjoy and do what you please. As long as you love Allah in your heart, its okay. You’ll still go paradise’. Giving rise to the Progressive Muslims Movement – One that promotes the idea being gay, bisexual or even lesbian is perfectly fine and nothing wrong.

In trying to create an “American-style Islam” these ‘scholars’ are also re-imaging and re-branding themselves. From being like this (prior to September the 11th): to this: and then finally to this:

Shuaib Webb and others who are like-minded, are leading the calls for Muslims to leave behind the “Arab & Pakistani” Islam, one that says ‘wear the hijab, grow a beard and respect the sunnah’. To embracing the “American Islam”, one that says, ‘you don’t have to wear the hijab, grow a beard, or respect the traditional Muslim values’. Hamza Yusuf’s absurd views on Hijab

“Are we going to reach them with an Arab message or with a Pakistani message? Or are we going to reach them with an American message?” asks Webb, 38, of Santa Clara.

Webb is at the forefront of a movement to create an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Koran and Islāmic law but that reflects this country’s customs and culture. Known for his laid-back style, he has helped promote the idea that Islam is open to a modern American interpretation. At times, his approach seems almost sacrilegious.

– As the LA times Newspaper reports.

Our Ummah is facing no greater threat to its very existence, than these ‘leading convert scholars’. They are out to completely re-interpret and re-shape the very fundamental understanding of Islam! Our times are times of great confusion and misery, both on the worldly terms as well as Islamically. Adding to this disarray, we are seeing the demise of great men on knowledge, the men of Allah who would inspire the love of sunnah, the sirah and tassawuff in peoples hearts. And, being replaced with stooges like Shuaib webb and Hamza yusuf! Who like to think knowing Arabic is the be all and end all. That, a person has mastered Islam!

24 thoughts on “The spiraling decline of “Imam” Shuaib Webb”

I am a Maliki and I am fed up of people using a delicate Maliki ruling as an excuse. Imam malik never said keep a really tiny beard. The permission he gives to keep a small beard are only for people under difficult situations. Not for the every day person. Do you think imam malik would have had a tiny beard? It’s inconceivable! People are throwing dirt on him, by saying he allowed people to keep a small beard.

when a fellow muslim makes a mistake we should give them 70 excuses, how can you disregard their faith, remember you point a finger at someone. don’t forget the other fingers pointing back at you. astaghfirullah. This is the BIG PROBLEM IN OUR UMMAH, WE are so fast to judge our beloved fellow brethren that we even forget our own selves. this is absurd, i don’t believe there is a need of justifying your actions but seriously STOP this. “my groups right and everyone else is wrong” ideology. If you hurt the slave of Allah, don’t forget whose slave you are hurting.

It is all about “the way of our beloved Rasullullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is right, and no other way is right.” When we have the Quran and Ahadith with us, why do we need to reinterpret Islam? When we hear how the Sahaba wanted to emulate each and every little action of beloved Rasullullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), even to the point of copying the way he smiled, to the way he shortened the long sleeve of blessed shirt, to the way he walked, to the way he spoke, to the way he slept, to the way he lowered his gaze, to the way he kept his beard, to the way he wore ihram, to the way he laughed, to the way he ate, to the way he sat, to the way he ate, to the way he wept, to the way he drank, and the list goes on.

Where is our love? Forget about my way and your way. Make the Sunnah of our beloved Rasullullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as the standard to judge everything. Anyone who goes against this standard, throw them behind your back, and run towards the Sunnah of our Rasullullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Because he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is the only one who will call out “Ummati! Ummati!” on the Day when everyone will abandon us.

Where is our true love? Love is what manifests on the outside and the inside. Not what one says from the tongue.

“Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 3:31)

Are you sure that every action in your life (without exception) is following exactly the sunnah of Rasulullah? Remember who you are, maybe if you do you’ll not see sins only in other people, but in yourself too. And sinning people wouldn’t be so arrogant against other people’s flaws, unless they are delusional.

You refer to Suhaib Webb and Hamza Yusuf as ‘scholars’ using inverted commas. It seems (and Allah knows best) that you are saying that they are not really scholars. Can you clarify whether this is your opinion? It is known that Hamza Yusuf studied under and received ijazah from Shaykhs Dr. `Abdullah bin Mahfooz bin Bayyah, Muhammad Ameen al-Shinqitee, Murabit Al-Hajj and many others and that Suhaib Webb completed studies at al-Azhar University (again receiving ijazah), so there can be no doubt as to their ‘scholarship’. That is not to say that they do not make mistakes and your article entitled ‘Hamza Yusuf’s absurd views on Hijab’ is largely commendable in pointing out one such error. However, I believe the same adaab has not been upheld in this article.

It seems from your article (and I’m sure that it is not the case) that you believe Suhaib Webb to be a modernist stooge “are out to completely re-interpret and re-shape the very fundamental understanding of Islam” because of the the decreasing length of his beard. You mentioned a beard as being ‘fist length’ so I’m assume you’re a Hanafi, but you must also be aware that there is a valid scholarly difference of opinion amongst the madhabs as to what represents and how long a beard should be. And therefor one should maintain the correct ettiquette of ikhtilaaf.

Finally, Islam being a ‘Universal Message’ I see nothing wrong in Imam Suhaib asking “Are we going to reach them with an Arab message or with a Pakistani message?” The non-Muslim (so should be verified) article that you posted itself says that the Imam’s message is “one that is true to the Koran and Islāmic law”

I am in no way trying to undermine the great work these people are doing. What i am trying to bring to attention is the fact how adopting a life of sunnah, more importantly in terms of sunnah dress code is being slowly thrown out the window. This is an alarming state of mind which the average Muslim faces on the street. From the right to the left, the growing number of western scholars saying we need to rethink Islam and our approach of implementing sunnah, is not only disturbing but dangerous.
The attack always begins with the onslaught on sunnah. When people begin to lessen the importance of sunnah in a Muslim’s life saying we have other issues to talk about. Then like a domino effect, one after the other every aspect of Islam slowly gets annihilated. This is exactly the route people like Kamal Attaturk and others took, when they completely alienated Islam from the Muslim lands. Look at turkey now, you will be hard pressed to think it is a Muslim country, save only the architecture. Kamal Attaturk began with the same rhetoric which people like shuaib webb are saying these days.
The secularist attack on the very foundation of Islam begins with sunnah. Kamal Attaturk radically changed the perception Islam in minds of Turkish Muslims with rhetoric like ‘we need to present Islam, not of the Arabs or Persians but a Turkish islam’. Look where it took them, it led to the complete transformation of Islam in turkey, to the extent even the Adhan was changed.

When i have some more time i will draw analogies of these trends. Islam is one, it transcends cultures and geographical locations. There is no need to attempt a “rethink” of Islam and sunnah.

people are dying around the world, people are starving around the world. and some people rather sit on their computer and backbite about great imams and sayuk who are actually going out their way, And helping humanity, And certain individuals within clicks of their fingers destroy their reputations, astaghfirullah. I seriously recommend you to actually meet these great people and witness for yourself the great work they are doing instead of destroying their hard work.

people are dying and starving around the world is because of this very reason. We have left the way of the sunnah and the laws of Allah. when we realize this then you will see big changes in the world.

Having bad thoughts and backbiting our fellow brothers is not Sunnah. It’s condemned. Don’t judge others as if we know everything that Allah knows. They way you see is often not the way Allah sees it. Be humble. Be careful whenever we make conclusion, in this case on Imam Suhaib. As Rasulullah S.A.W had said, “I’d rather make mistake in forgiving, than making mistake in punishing.”

agreed, of course, people have left the sunnah therefore corruption has emerged. Instead of following the sunnah we rather create hate groups and sit behind computers and destroy the reputations of great imams. May we All find those who lead us towards the Great Sunnah and hold fast to the bright rope of the great sunnah, yet again if we look at the great imams, the most greatest past away in prisons, greatness is never accepted in this immoral world. there is always opposition with goodness. so i guess if these great imams are opposed by certain individuals, this is a great sign. Satan would hate it if we were united. yet we need to fight the satan so why not create articles that would bring us all together, instead of disunite us, we seriously need to look at how the muslims in the past invited people to the truth, we are 100% sure they didn’t slander their Imams or any of their leaders, but they used the honourable sunnah. Muslims of America love these imaams, and if we want to set an example, use the way and love of our leader (upon them be peace and their family) and not words of “(shaik) Hamza Yusuf absurd views on hijab” what type of example is this. We agree you have a point but “this way” please reevaluate your attempts please. We ask, of you nicely. And please re-assess your views with clarification, with the imams themselves.

well said brother HT. Could’nt agree with this more. May Allah preserve and save us from Learning something about his dheen, and then trying to become self made Mujtahids. To rely on the wisdom of the teacher is of Greater benefit to the believer inshaAllah.

“Shuaib Webb and others who are like-minded, are leading the calls for Muslims to leave behind the “Arab & Pakistani” Islam, one that says ‘wear the hijab, grow a beard and respect the sunnah’. To embracing the “American Islam”, one that says, ‘you don’t have to wear the hijab, grow a beard, or respect the traditional Muslim values’.”

I can see that Imam Suhaib Webb has a very short beard, but what evidence do you have that he says you don’t need to wear the hijab or respect the sunnah?

On Imam Suhaib Webb’s website, he posted an article about the compulsory of wearing Hijab. He even respectfully argued with people who think Hijab is not wajib. At least that’s one reason for the writer of this article to make Taubah and find Imam Suhaib and ask forgiveness for backbiting.

Bruv, the blood of scholars is poison, I hope you know that? Also, you do know Sh. Suhaib is a graduate of Al-Azhar, fluent in Arabic and has a fatwa to give fatwas??! Yeah please do some research on the brother and what he teaches, instead of looking at his “beard” and label him a “progressive”. I’ve actually never seen him with that kind of long beard EVER and I doubt anyone else has either so it seems pretty irrelevant! And way to take pictures out of context. Smh.

Beards, kurtas and external “religious wear” whatever do not make a Muslim.

Further to my recent response to the fatwa of Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa of Egypt in which he stated that it was permissible to celebrate Christmas, I have received many messages requesting me to dispel the confusion caused by the famous American Imam, Suhaib Webb al-Azhari on his official facebook page.

After a brief analysis, it is clear that the esteemed Imam Suhaib al-Azhari has misrepresented certain facts that I will look to clarify in this article.

Owing to the urgency of this matter and the lack of a single scholar to openly and academically assess these statements, I have decided to fulfill this obligation in what may appear to some as a haphazard way, but I ask to be forgiven owing to commitments to more pressing issues such as familial suffering in Damascus as many of you are already aware.

First of all, Imam Webb’s initial post on the subject that forms his basis of all future arguments on the subject. He writes:

“The European Fatwa Council; made up of 20 of the worlds greatest Muslim Jurists, stated that it is permissible to greet people on these days (exchange gifts even) as long as it does not involve approving any creedal differences between us, or open evil (drinking and so on).

In other words, a simple happy holidays is not a sin or going to take that person out of Islam. It is reported with authentic chains that Ali (ra) celebrated the Persian New Year, even eating ice cream with Imam Abu Hanifa’s relative.

Many of the fatwa quoted by sincere folks are rooted in an age of empire and war (the crusades) or a social reality that does not fit ours in the West. Most importantly, a person should ask those who use words like “haram” “kufur” “Halal” and “encouraged” about their religious training. Yelling and over blown emotionalism does not equal training and scholarship. Allah knows best.”

Now, it would not be challenging to write a short book on the observations that I have regarding this short paragraph, but I doubt many would find the time to read it. For the purposes of brevity, I will not discuss his comments on the ‘age of empire and war[i] nor steep to the depths of questioning the Imams ‘training and scholarship’, but my focus will remain on the statements that he has made or supported regarding the issue of celebrating non-Muslim festivals.